


The Meaning of Love

by Sesquipedalian_Numeral



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 11:57:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16786510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sesquipedalian_Numeral/pseuds/Sesquipedalian_Numeral
Summary: Lori and Carol come together to help Lisa understand love, and that there's more to it than she may think. Collab with JamesSunderlandsPillow





	The Meaning of Love

It was an autumn day in the middle of November, and things were rather calm for once around the Loud house. The younger children were in their rooms playing quietly, while the older siblings spent their leisure time lazing about, not in a hurry to do anything productive.

As per usual, when Mom and Dad took days like this to steal away for one on one time, Lori was left in charge of her brother and sisters for the while. The house wasn't in total chaos for once, what better way to spend that opportunity than to unwind in her bed and dial up her beloved Bobby Boo Boo Bear?

"So, Carol and I were at the mall earlier, and we went to the Groovy Smoothie," she began. "We hang out literally all the time now, she's coming over today to work on a group project!"

"Oh- that's great!" Bobby eagerly responded. "And hey, I actually work there on the weekends. I can hit you up with a few drinks!"

"Shut. Up!" Lori started squealing at that. "I go there literally every Sunday! Why do we never see each other?"

"I started working there last week!" he answered.

"No way! I started going there last week!" Lori started squealing again as she sat upright on her bed, squeezing the phone closer to herself tightly in her hand.

"Man, I always manage to find you wherever I work," Bobby said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, so responsible!" Lori swooned.

"How do we always manage to bump into each other?" Bobby wondered out loud.

"Don't question it," Lori said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's a sign! We're literally meant to be!"

"Oh, babe!" Bobby reached in for a hug on the screen.

Lori hugged the phone back as well. "Oh, Bobby Boo Boo Bear!"

Suddenly, the door burst open, causing Lori to gasp and jerk backwards with surprise. "AAH!"

There Lisa was, holding the door open with one hand, while pointing an accusatory finger with the other. "Lori! You're three minutes and twenty-seven seconds late to your trigonometric tutoring session!" she called to her.

"Uh, babe? Everything okay?" Bobby worriedly expressed from the other end of the line.

Lisa immediately started pacing towards the girl on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, Lori turned her body away, holding the phone closer to her face and focusing on it with greater intent.

"Wha- yeah I'll be fine, just another one of my-"

Lisa reached for Lori's virtual lifeline, but she defensively moved the phone away from herself.

"Ahem! I'm busy!" Lori snapped.

Sensing the conflict from her bedroom, Bobby glanced away from the screen and pointed his thumb in that direction. "I, uh, I have some homework to do, so-"

"No no! I'll be fine!" Lori gasped as she dodged another attempt from her younger sibling to swipe the phone away.

Suddenly, Lori heard a whirring sound, and she soon felt her beloved device slip from her fingers. Her hands clenched tightly in the phone's absence, and she followed the sound behind her to see Lisa holding a small remote-controlled device in her hands. Just another day with Lisa in the Loud house, bested by her sister's crazy scientific antics!

"She'll be calling you back, Boo Boo Bear," Lisa said in a mocking tone. With that, she jabbed the big red button on the center of the capacitive touchscreen, and the image of Lori's high school sweetheart disappeared.

"Ughhh!" Lori groaned. "Lisa, what was that for!?"

"Sheesh, always on time for your ritualistic phone calls. If only you had that same sense of urgency towards completing your homework assignments," Lisa commented.

Lori grabbed Lisa by the collar, glaring at her. "You used a claw machine to snatch my phone away!" she growled.

In the face of this, Lisa remained entirely unphased, simply taking the phone from the claw machine and stuffing it into her pocket. "Ah, just as hopeless as ever, giving in to your reckless teenage instincts. I'm afraid your attachment to your cellular device is symptomatic of nomophobia; sadly too common, and a constant distraction from what really matters."

"Lori's grip on the collar loosened, and she let go, leaning back a bit as she heard those words. "Well, everyone does it…" she said with a quieter tone.

"Tsk tsk tsk… conformity at its finest," Lisa responded. "Of course you'd succumb to it, seeing as you're subject to pursuing high school relationships as well."

"Okay, my phone is one thing, but there's literally no way Bobby's getting involved!" Lori exclaimed.

"You shouldn't be with Bobby in the first place," Lisa said with a deadpan expression. She quickly dashed out of the room, returning a few seconds later wheeling in a whiteboard, with all sorts of charts plastered over it.

"According to my sociological research, your courtship with your so-called 'high-school sweetheart' is setting sail for failure," Lisa explained, gesturing towards the chart. "Only fourteen percent of successful couples meet in high school. Nineteen percent of people marrying high school sweethearts attend college, and a staggeringly low three percent-"

"Lisa, what are you going on about? What does this have to do with me and Bobby?" she questioned with a facepalm.

"My point is that you're doomed for failure should you pursue this perilous path," Lisa warned her. "There will be plenty other potential romantic partners when your neurological composition is fully developed."

A smirk crept on Lori's face as she realized what Lisa had just implied. "Oh, I get what's going on here…"

"I'm glad you're coming to your senses," Lisa said. She reached under her arm and held the sheets out in front of her. "Now, your trigonometry homework-"

"No silly!" Lori interrupted. "You're the one that doesn't get it!"

Lisa met her remark with a hint of skepticism. "Absolutely preposterous," she said, crossing her arms. "Love is merely the result of neurotransmitters and hormones cycling through your synapses, thereby causing egregious lapses in judgment for the sake of human procreation."

Lori scoffed in response. "That's literally bullshit!" she said amusedly.

"Could do without the vulgarity," Lisa remarked, fixing her glasses.

"Oh, sweet simple Lisa…" Lori said as she crouched down and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "It sounds like maybe I can teach you a thing or two, for once!"

"Pshh, what could you possibly teach me? Junior nobel prize, four PhDs, volunteer professor at Royal Woods Community College..." Lisa started listing them out with her fingers.

Just as Lori was about to respond, the familiar ringer of her cell phone sounded off.

Lisa stoically stared at her eldest sister for a moment, as the sound of ringing continued. "Well by all means, if you're content with throwing your life away with this nonsense, feel free to answer. I can't make you study."

With another scoff, Lori reached over and snatched the phone out of Lisa's pocket before accepting the incoming call. To her surprise however, instead of the image of her beloved boyfriend on the screen, she saw her new best friend staring back at her with a glowing smile.

"Hi Lori, I'm outside!" Carol Pingrey greeted.

"Yeah that's great and all, but we literally have a crisis on our hands! My sister Lisa doesn't understand the meaning of love!" she yelled.

A gasp echoed from the speaker. Without another word from her, the phone line cut out. Lori ran out of the room and down the stairs to answer the front door, leaving Lisa to idle alone in the bedroom.

"Typical…" she rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

A few seconds later, Lori returned with her newfound BFF, both panting from running up the stairs just now. They took a moment to catch their breath before addressing the child prodigy before them.

"Alright, tell me everything. Give me the deets!" Carol demanded.

Lisa watched on with curiosity as Lori took Carol by the shoulder and maneuvered her towards her bed to have a seat.

"This is Lisa," she began.

"She's your smart sister, right?" Carol asked.

"'Smart' is a gross understatement," Lisa interrupted.

Lori rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's my smart sister. She tutors me with my trig homework."

"Which we haven't started yet, because you insist on wasting time with this pointless argument!" Lisa interrupted again.

"But that doesn't matter right now!" Lori asserted. "What matters is, she's totally in the dark about love!"

Carol looked to the young girl with incredulity. "I literally can't even."

With that, Lisa blew a condescending puff of air to her left. "I recognize that vernacular, very popular amongst the 'dumb blonde stereotype'," Lisa said with air quotes. "What could you possibly know?"

"Dumb blonde?" Carol repeated with a cringe. "I'm the top of my class! I've been offered three different scholarships to ivy league universities!" she retorted.

"Girls, you're both smart," Lori butted in. "Now can we focus on what really matters here?"

"Well, I suppose you have no intention on starting the assignment anytime soon," Lisa huffed and crossed her arms.

It was now Lori's turn to roll her eyes. "Anyways, Lisa, do you have any idea what Bobby means to me? How much our relationship means to each other?"

"He does conduct himself cordially," Lisa agreed with her.

Lori amusedly scoffed at that. "'Cordially' is a gross understatement," she said, mimicking Lisa with a chuckle.

"What do you see in him?" Lisa asked. "What values does he bring?"

"He's literally everything!" Lori swooned. "He's so sweet, and kind, and thoughtful, and hardworking… he's perfect…" she sighed lovingly.

"Oh yeah, Bobby is a really great guy!" Carol chimed in. "They are such relationship goals."

"Yes, yes, that's fine and dandy, but I'd encourage probing further into your reasoning," Lisa suggested.

"Hmm," Lori hummed to herself and placed a finger to her chin. "Well, for starters… Anytime I'm I'm feeling down about something, I can call him up and talk about it with him," she explained. She then turned to Carol with a soft smile. "Kind of like I can with someone else I know."

Carol smiled too as she turned her head to the side. "She sounds great," she joked.

"I suppose venting can be a cathartic experience," Lisa noted to herself.

"He always listens to everything I have to say!" Lori continued gushing. "He started watching The Dream Boat because of me, and he remembers everything about my five hour rants!"

"Wouldn't be much of a conversation if both parties aren't actively listening," Lisa said.

"Oh but that's the thing!" Lori excitedly responded. "He's such an interesting guy! We can talk for hours about his dreams…"

"His ambitions," Carol adds.

"His stories!"

"Oh! I love the one about him and Ronnie Anne driving all the way to the gas station. It turns out, when they had to pay, Bobby checked his pockets, and all he had was-"

"Monopoly money!" both girls said in unison before sharing a laugh.

"How could one possibly mistake some counterfeit currency fabricated from an antiquated Hasbro game for the American Dollar?!" Lisa asked.

"I know, right!?" Lori agreed. "He gets himself into all these crazy situations. You never know what kind of adventure you're going on with him!"

"Hmm," Lisa tapped her chin as she thought to herself. "It seems as though you appreciate Bobby for all his qualities, without discrimination or preference. You hold him in such high regards that any characteristic of his, beneficial or otherwise, is viewed through rose-tinted glasses."

Hearing this, Lori glanced to the side and nervously rubbed her arm. "Well, I mean, don't get me wrong. The guy isn't perfect," Lori admitted. "But, uhm, let's see…"

"What happens if he skips a date?" Lisa asked. "What if he were to abandon this relationship in favor of pursuing another suitable individual? What happens if you have disputes on human fundamentals, or dysfunctional interfamilial relationships?"

Lori furrowed her brows and pinched her temples, lost in thought on what to say. Bobby betraying her? She wanted to say it was impossible, to just forget it and yell at Lisa for being wrong. However, she would be lying to herself if she didn't at least acknowledge Lisa had a point. Her eyes started wandering as she fought for anything to grasp onto at all, while pushing those negative prophecies out of her mind.

Eventually, her eyes landed on a blonde teen sitting next to her, patiently sitting and listening to the conversation. Seeing this, a grin formed on Lori's face, flushing away all doubts and worries pent up in her mind. "Take Carol for example!" she started, looking over to the girl.

"Me?" her proclaimed BFF questioned, putting a hand on her chest.

"Yeah!" Lori affirmed. "See, at first, I… I was a little harsh with the way I looked at her," she said with some remorse as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah, a little harsh," Carol responded with slight sarcasm. "Like when you were complaining to Whitney and said I was 'too good' for getting those eyelash extensions."

"But now look at us!" Lori cheerfully continued, disregarding her riposte. "Carol knows I'm not perfect. But what's great about her is, she accepted me for the whole package. I know I was jealous of her achievements, and sometimes I made her life hard... but even after all that, she forgave me. She's always willing to help and look out for me! I know I can talk to her about anything now, and she can share anything with me too! We're literally so close now, she's the best!"

Carol slightly huffed to herself as she looked to the side as well, a smile on her face and her cheeks pinkening.

"Your friendship is rather endearing, even if I say so myself," Lisa said, shaking her head. "However, I believe it more productive to stop beating around the bush and address the primary cause of concern."

Carol raised an eyebrow at this statement, though Lori seemed unfazed.

"Thus far, you've listed several traits of your romantic partner, affectionately referred to as 'Bobby Boo Boo Bear'," Lisa continued. "Indeed, those are commendable traits, and you're truly fortuitous to have encountered such an individual. However, I still have to question your focal point. What do all these traits amount to? How does that ultimately compare to the futility of these relationships?"

Lori exchanged an uneasy glance with Carol before addressing the child prodigy. "Uh…" she fumbled with her words. "Bobby makes me happy! We're both happy! What else is there to it?"

"What do you mean what else?!" Lisa formed a fist at that. "This blissful sensation you're pursuing is short-lived and incredibly near-sighted!"

"Why can't you just get it?" Lori asked with an exasperated sigh. "You'd be so much happier if you did!"

"While I appreciate the concern, I'm plenty content with my current lifestyle," Lisa responded. "I've acquired several prestigious achievements, there are boundless pathways to pursue greater scientific research, and several social convoys to accompany me on my journey. There really isn't much to complain about."

Upon hearing Lisa's rebuttal, the metaphorical light-bulb went off over Carol's head.

As Lori opened her mouth to form another argument to Lisa's claims, the other girl stopped her with a hand to the shoulder.

"Lori, hold on," she said before turning to face Lisa.

The younger girls' eyes met with Carol's for what seemed to be the first time. Lisa gave herself pause to anticipate what this person- practically a stranger, was about to say.

Carol took a breath before beginning. "Lisa, it sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this."

"Pfft, baseline requirements," she snidely remarked.

"And maybe you're right. For yourself at least." Carol proceeded.

Lori furrowed her brows. "I thought you were on my side!"

"We can compare our selfie likes later," Carol quipped, before turning her attention back to Lisa. "I think what you're really trying to tell us is that, what Lori and Bobby have… just isn't for you."

Lisa cocked her head slightly at that. "Proceed."

"Well… What about your family? Your friends?" she questioned Lisa before turning to whisper to Lori, "She does have friends, right?"

"I heard that!" Lisa asserted before returning to her neutral stance. "As a matter of fact, I do," she added with a hint of ambivalence. "I consider Darcy Helmandollar very dear to me."

"Who's Darcy?" Carol asked with a soothing tone of voice.

"Well…" Lisa paused to think. "I know her from my kindergarten class. Rather sweet girl."

Carol turned to face Lori with a sly smile, and Lori's eyes widened before she returned the gesture.

"Lisa, come here," Lori said as she patted a spot next to her on the mattress.

Seeing this, Lisa reluctantly hopped on and landed next to her, placing her palms flat on the surface. She stole a glance at Lori and Carol, who joined them on the bed as well.

"What's sweet about Darcy?" Carol asked.

Lisa hesitated for a few seconds, glancing downwards at the floor before turning up to acknowledge her. "She's nice," she muttered.

"Come on, there's gotta be more to it than that. I won't judge," Carol reassured her. "Promise!"

With that, Lisa took a deep breath. "She was kind to me despite all my misgivings towards her," she began. "I failed to comprehend the purpose of friendship. It seemed like unnecessary baggage, a poorly constructed requirement for a grade."

Carol and Lori exchanged a glance at each other, before continuing to listen with intent.

"But when she offered me a cookie… that was an enlightening moment. That was when I knew."

The words lingered in the air for a moment, before Carol finally gave a response.

"So you could say Darcy is special to you. Kind of like Bobby is to Lori."

Upon hearing those words, Lisa's eyes widened for a brief moment, before she fought to maintain a neutral expression. "Well, uh, that's different…" she trailed off at that.

"Is it really?" Carol asked with a smirk.

Lisa glanced away from Carol, unable to look her in the eye. "Admittedly, I find myself unable to identify any discernible difference between the two," she responded. "I'm sure there's a book in my expansive collection of literature that addresses this."

"What do you do with her?" Carol added.

"Darcy tends to be rather curious of my works," Lisa recalled. "I doubt she truly comprehends what I tell her, but she always tries so hard… Despite the many non-sequiturs, I have little doubt she derives a certain type of amusement from listening to me."

"It sounds like you enjoy spending time with her," Carol noted.

A few seconds passed, before Lisa shook her head slightly. "Yes, yes indeed."

"Would you say that you care about her?" Carol followed.

"It'd be dishonest to claim otherwise," she answered.

"Well, I can say the same about Lori," Carol belatedly said, her cheeks brightening at the thought. "Even though it took us some time to get to know each other, I'd like to think we get along pretty well now," she happily stated as she looked to her.

"Literally," Lori simply responded before turning back to her sister. "Hmm… Kind of like you and Darcy."

Lisa squinted her eyes as she digested this comparison. "I did find her rather clingy at first, yes. But in due time, I was able to recognize her more admirable qualities."

"Yeah!" Lori agreed. "I mean, I love you just the same, Lisa! Sometimes, you annoy me with your crazy science experiments, and constantly getting in the way of chatting with Bobby to do trig homework-"

"Sheesh, we're bringing this up again," Lisa interrupted.

"-and making rude unnecessary remarks about every third thing we say," Lori continued, a hint of sternness in her voice. "But I don't know where I would be without you. Maybe we butt heads sometimes, but I know you really care about me. You're always so concerned for my future, keeping up with our scheduled tutoring sessions, lecturing me about good life decisions… You might not like saying it, but I know you love me too!"

Lisa was now twiddling her thumbs, shaking her legs, trying her hardest to look at anything other than Lori and Carol. "Uh, yes, there are social obligations that require me to attend to my immediate lineage. It's the least I can do."

Lori smiled upon hearing this. "Come here," she beckoned towards her lap.

Hearing this, Lisa scooted over a few inches towards her older sister. She glanced upwards to meet her eye, and Lori gazed back downwards with a reassuring smile. This was the encouragement she needed to finally hop onto her lap, where Lori's embrace encapsulated her with a sensation indescribable beyond words.

"I haven't held you like this since you were a baby," Lori said with a chuckle.

"You two are so adorable," Carol sighed.

Lisa opened her mouth to remind her of her numerous prestigious achievements, but then closed it. In this moment, she wanted nothing more than to slip even further into her older sister's comforting arms. Being adorable wasn't so bad.

"And I did the same thing with all of you," Lori recalled. "From Leni to Lincoln, to you right now, I've had a lot of great memories growing up."

"What kind of memories?" Lisa asked with a hesitant hilt.

"Let's see… Remember that time we went on a family road trip?" Lori thought out loud.

"Oh, I remember you telling me about this!" Carol cheerfully interjected. "It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun!"

"I believe the trip wouldn't have been possible without me," Lisa pointed out. "After all, I was the one to compact all our belongings on the roof of our vehicular unit."

Carol raised an eyebrow. "Wait, how'd you do that if you lost your roof?"

"That was afterwards. Our maternal unit was relegated to piloting an unsolicited aircraft, and we were chasing a car carrier who recklessly drove through a barn. Few of our belongings remained intact."

"Remember how we got there in the first place? You told us to do the 'Hide the Iceberg' technique, so we could hitch a ride!" Lori said. "That was crazy!"

"You told me your dad got hit by a car!" Carol laughed.

"I'm still baffled by the rashness of his actions," Lisa said. "It's a wonder how he didn't get seriously injured then."

"We all went through a lot that day. That trip wasn't going our way at all! But even then, I still love thinking back to it." She said with a smile as she looked down to Lisa. "We still had a great time! The trip was hectic, but we all had each other! That's love, isn't it?"

A smile slowly crept on Lisa's face as she glanced upwards towards Lori's eyes. "Yeah…" she said. "It is."

Carol merely watched, content with witnessing this display of sisterly affection. Lori gave Lisa a gentle squeeze, slowly rocking her from side to side.

"You know, despite me constantly reiterating that human emotions are inane, I don't believe that's fully representative of myself. I have appreciated our many interactions. I admire your leadership skills, your attentiveness to each of your siblings, the care you extend towards each of us… I guess what I really mean to say is, I love you too."

Carol and Lori looked to one another with glossy eyes. "AWW!" they blurted out together. Lori then gave Lisa another little snuggle in her arms, feeling her heartbeat pounding harder against Lisa's small body.

Lisa smirked at this. "Alright, alright… I can do without the excessive sentimentalism."

"You can be sentimental all you want!" Carol teased as she reached over and affectionately pinched Lisa on the cheek.

Lisa instinctively squeezed an eye shut in response, albeit with a little laughter seeping through. There was something this gesture that was really endearing to her. Welcome, even.

"Well… I uh… I suppose that's a fine alternative," she confessed.

The three girls exchanged pleased gazes with one another before Lori let go of Lisa, whom crawled off and sat between them.

"I'm really glad we had this talk, Lisa. Maybe you were right about some things," Lori admitted.

"Well, I won't put up a facade about my viewpoints. As far as I know, you're still treading a risky path," she said, shaking her head. "However… upon further inspection, I suppose there are worse directions you could take."

"Thanks," Lori responded, a warm smile coming to her face.

Suddenly, she felt a vibration from her phone in her right pocket. "Oh! I almost forgot about Bobby!" she yelped before standing up from the bed to walk over to the door. "One sec, guys!"

With that, she disappeared into the hallway, leaving Carol and Lisa alone.

"Alrighty!" Carol said with a little wave, before turning to Lisa. "I guess it's just us now, huh?"

With a slow nod of the head, Lisa turned to acknowledge the young woman sitting beside her as well. "Affirmative."

Silence passed over the duo, with some nervous glances off to the side, and neither exchanging a word with the other.

"Thanks," Lisa quickly mentioned. "For being here."

"Mhm," Carol responded.

Another moment of silence followed, with more nervous glances exchanged, awkwardness encompassing the duo.

"Carol… Might I ask you something now?" Lisa inquired.

"Huh? Sure. Yeah," Carol answered.

Belatedly, Lisa continued. "You previously alluded to the notion that your previous relationship with Lori wasn't copacetic. Care to provide details?"

Carol thought it over. "Yeah, I mean… For a while, I didn't think Lori liked me. Honestly, I didn't think I liked her either."

She took a pause to consider her words, while Lisa patiently awaited a response.

"But really, I think I just wanted her to notice me. I mean, I don't mean to sound egotistical or anything, but it's like- I'm used to being noticed," she said with a nervous chuckle. "Lori was different. I don't know, maybe she was just busy with other things, or maybe I made myself out to be…"

"Unapproachable?" Lisa speculated.

"Yeah, that," Carol agreed before taking another brief pause. "But, we ran into each other one day at the mall, and… just kind of talked about it. She came up to me, actually."

A little smile beamed on her face at the memory.

"I think the point I'm just trying to get at is, no, we didn't always see eye to eye. But once I gave her a chance. Once she gave me a chance…"

"Things… just kind of worked out?" Lisa something something.

"Yeah. Yeah, they did," Carol agreed.

Lisa took some time to wrap her head around what Carol had said to her. After some consideration, she decided on how to follow up.

"And do you mind if I ask how you feel about her now?"

Carol felt her cheeks burn up a little as she looked to the side, smiling softly.

"She's literally great."

Lisa cocked her head to the side as she studied Carol's expression. After a few seconds, Lisa's expression mirrored hers, with a small curve on the corner of her lips.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, causing Carol and Lisa to jerk their head towards the noise. There, Lori reentered the room, pressing the end call dial on the touchscreen of her phone.

"Hey, sorry, Bobby wanted to ask me about our plans for the weekend before his lunch break," she explained. "So did you ladies have fun talking about me?" she jokingly added.

Carol and Lisa shared a glance of understanding before returning their attention to Lori.

"We had a nice chat," Lisa answered on their behalf.

"Well, are you ready to go get started on our research paper?" Lori asked Carol.

"Oh yeah! The paper!" Carol remembered.

"Since when did academics suddenly become such a priority?" Lisa quipped.

To Carol's surprise, Lori reached in and took her by the hand. Before Carol could respond, she felt herself tugged off the bed and onto her feet. Despite it being so sudden, it almost felt like there was a skip in time as her soft tender hand took hold of hers.

"Uh- Lori!" Carol stuttered, face beet red and with a flustered tone.

"Alright Lisa, we really have to be getting to work now," Lori stressed, failing to pick up on Carol's despondence.

"It was- uh, nice meeting you, Lisa!" Carol did a wave before glancing away. She smiled softly to herself as she put a hand on her cheek, soft and warm to the touch.

Lisa nodded with approval and a dismissive wave of. "As the kids would say, it's all good, fam."

Lori and Carol both flashed a grin at her, before turning to face each other.

"You ready?" Lori asked.

Carol met her eyes, and in them, she was able to regain the same calm, collected composure that made her Carol Pingrey.

"Always."

The two teenagers then took their leave, and Lisa idled on her older sister's bed to contemplate everything they had told her. The admittedly inspirational qualities Bobby possessed, the good times Lisa had with her friend, the familial love and kinship she had shared for several years, and now Carol's intimacy towards Lori. Such a cryptic concept… no concrete definition or purpose. But something about it… the idea endeared itself to her in a way no thesis or experimental result ever could.

"I never got to tutor Lori… I never won the argument…" she sighed. Leaning back, she dropped herself on the bed, making a light oomph as she landed, leaving her to stare up at the blank white ceiling.

"Somehow… I'm okay with this," she said. "I finally know the meaning of love."


End file.
